Story Archives 2011

p class="MsoNormal" To write with laughter, heart, fire and humilitymdash;to get those words down and draw the reader inmdash;to make the reader warm with the fire of poetry, wet with the tears of memory, full with the soup of experiencemdash;leaving the reader satisfied and inspired to change the worldmdash;that is what the writer does.spannbsp;nbsp;/spanThe latest offering from POOR Press is a down-home, humble, timely and inspiring collection of books written by povertynbsp;span data-scayt_word="skolahs" data-scaytid="1"skolahs/span from POOR Magazinersquo;s People span data-scayt_word="Skool" data-scaytid="2"Skool/span, aka span data-scayt_word="Escuela" data-scaytid="3"Escuela/span De la span data-scayt_word="Gente" data-scaytid="4"Gente/span.spannbsp; /spanPeople in academia spend lots of money to be able to learn how to articulate what is real, what is humblemdash;to be able to express what comes so naturally to poverty span data-scayt_word="skolahs" data-scaytid="5"skolahs/span who donrsquo;t have money to access the statuary world of the academia./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" This new collection is written with passion, with stories gleaned from the experiences of poverty span data-scayt_word="skolahs" data-scaytid="7"skolahs/span who have lived through and survived span data-scayt_word="houselessness" data-scaytid="9"houselessness/span, the criminal (In)justice system and isolation in span data-scayt_word="Amerikkka" data-scaytid="10"Amerikkka/span.spannbsp; /spanPOOR Press provides publishing access to poverty span data-scayt_word="skolahs" data-scaytid="11"skolahs/span whose important stories go untold in the span data-scayt_word="classist" data-scaytid="13"classist/span and exclusionary world of book publishing.spannbsp; /spanPoverty span data-scayt_word="skolas" data-scaytid="14"skolas/span conceive their booksmdash;poetry, memoir or short storiesmdash;write the text and work on overall design.spannbsp; /span/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Poverty span data-scayt_word="skolah" data-scaytid="15"skolah/span and mother of 2 span data-scayt_word="Terrilyn" data-scaytid="16"Terrilyn/span span data-scayt_word="Woodfin" data-scaytid="17"Woodfin/span articulates span data-scayt_word="houslessness" data-scaytid="18"houslessness/span and span data-scayt_word="landlessness" data-scaytid="19"landlessness/span with passion in her book, a href="http://www.poormag.info/static/terrilyn/"ldquo;I am Homeless, the new face of Homelessnessrdquo;./aspannbsp; /spanHer story begins in Knoxville where she sets off for San Francisco. She ends up in Santa Ana for 2 years, facing innumerable obstacles to housing and food.spannbsp; /spanDuring hard times, which included her being ostracized unjustly from her church, she recalled the words of her spiritual mother who said she was going to go through a ldquo;great deal of heartache and the rollercoaster ride of her life before she would see the real blessings manifestingrdquo;.spannbsp; /spanUprooted and not knowing where her family would sleep, span data-scayt_word="Terrilyn" data-scaytid="20"Terrilyn/span felt the guilt of being a poor woman of colormdash;guilty that she had let her kids down.spannbsp; /spanBut her faith remained strong with the knowledge that God never lets you down.spannbsp; /spanHer writing is reminiscent of Filipino American author Carlos span data-scayt_word="Bulosan" data-scaytid="22"Bulosan/span whose seminal novel ldquo;America is in the Heartrdquo; (published in 1946) painted a portrait of individuals who behaved in heroic yet unheralded waysmdash;in contradiction to the ubiquitous racism and classism in societymdash;to aid their neighbor.spannbsp; /spanSimilarly, span data-scayt_word="Terrilyn’s" data-scaytid="23"Terrilynrsquo;s/span experience shows that God looks out for us by working through people./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Dee Allen is an important poet, articulating the struggle of the workers, police brutality victims, migrants and span data-scayt_word="houseless" data-scaytid="24"houseless/span folks.spannbsp; /spana href="http://www.poormag.info/static/dee/index.html"ldquo;Unwritten Lawrdquo; /ais the second volume of poems by Dee published by POOR Press.spannbsp; /spanThis moving collection of poems rises like fire.spannbsp; /spanDee eloquently decries the police state in ldquo;Requiescatrdquo;, a poem with a haunting refrain ldquo;Let them restrdquo; that envisions a world without ldquo;enforcers of haterdquo;.spannbsp; /spanUnwritten Law draws upon the history and presence of native peoples, the overlooked and those whose stories have been erased from history.spannbsp; /spanDee asks: who is the migrant in span data-scayt_word="Amerikkka" data-scaytid="25"Amerikkka/span today?spannbsp; /spanDeersquo;s poetic vision is the shared breath/heartbeat of the workers, the builders of civilizationmdash;the span data-scayt_word="Zapotec" data-scaytid="27"Zapotec/span day laborer, the span data-scayt_word="Salvadorean" data-scaytid="28"Salvadorean/span youth, the Lebanese woman, the Senegalese taxi driver.spannbsp; /spanHow are these people terrorists? He asks.spannbsp; /spanHow are they criminals?spannbsp; /spanDee Allen is a poet who continually puts himself on the line for the community, participating in civil disobediencemdash;refusing to be intimidated when issues of justice are at the forefront.spannbsp; /spanHe is truly one of the best poets I know./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" In the world of Joseph Bolden, real or imagined, all roads lead homemdash;although he has been known to lose his way.spannbsp; /spanJoersquo;s a href="http://www.poormag.info/static/joe/"ldquo;Lost in span data-scayt_word="Amerikkka" data-scaytid="29"Amerikkka/span /ais anecdotal, weaving irony and humor into the quilt of struggle in connecting with loved ones and the important choices one makes on their lifersquo;s journey.spannbsp; /spanspan data-scayt_word="Well-travelled" data-scaytid="31"Well-travelled/span shoes adorn the cover of Joersquo;s book ndash;perfect metaphor for the chaotic pace of society.spannbsp; /spanJoe gets lost, his shoes covering the landscape from SF to New York to Colorado to Hawaii.spannbsp; /spanHis stories of sweat lodges, the search for love, his neighborhood, his shoes, glasses, hat, etc. make his book a journey not to be missed without a pair of well-worn shoes./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" Lisa Gray-Garcia, AKA Tiny, has bestowed a beautifully written and illustrated inter-generational book ( as tiny says: its for both parents and children) called a href="http://www.poormag.info/static/TheManInTheMoon/"ldquo;The Man in the Moonrdquo; (El hombre en la span data-scayt_word="luna" data-scaytid="32"luna/span)/a.spannbsp; /spanThe story is allegory at its finest, with indigenous farmers who thrive with their animals until the rains no longer come.spannbsp; /spanAt the top of a hill lives a man with a span data-scayt_word="plentitude" data-scaytid="33"plentitude/span of food and water so the villagers ask for help, which he repeatedly refuses.spannbsp; /spanWhen the man is confronted by what appears to be a mother and child, appealing to his humanity and later transforms into the span data-scayt_word="Orisha" data-scaytid="34"Orisha/span span data-scayt_word="Yemoja" data-scaytid="35"Yemoja/spanmdash;he finds that he is accountable for his span data-scayt_word="self-centeredness" data-scaytid="36"self-centeredness/span and faces a fate that will allow him to make amends./p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" These books make for great reading.spannbsp; /spanYou can purchase any of these beautiful books on-linespannbsp; /span@ a href="http://www.poormag.info/static/" target="_blank"http://www.poormag.info/wbrstatic//wbr/a. If you would like to publish your own book with POOR press ndash; you can enroll in POOR Magazinersquo;s span data-scayt_word="PeopleSkool" data-scaytid="37"PeopleSkool/span revolutionary media program which begins on January 31supspan data-scayt_word="st" data-scaytid="38"st/span/sup ndash; - more info at a href="http://www.racepovertymediajustice.org/" target="_blank"http://www.wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrracepovertymediajustice.org//wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/a or by calling POOR at a href="tel:415-863-6306" target="_blank" value="+14158636306"415-863-6306/a/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr /wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbr/wbr/wbr/p p wbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbrwbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/wbr/p p class="MsoNormal" nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p p /p

pRacismo en el Futbol/p p“Chinga tu Madre guey” Dijo John un jugador de nuestro equipo, antes de empezar a perseguir al mestizo que lo llamo Mayate/ Nigger, se empezaron a pelear a chingadasos, los otros jugadores intervinieron y los separaron el mestizo le pido disculpa a John por llamarlo Mayate/ Nigger./p pEsto sucedió en un parque de futbol de el área de la bahía, pero sucede más de lo que nos imaginamos./p pRecientemente John Terry, capitán de la Selección Nacional de Inglaterra y jugador del Chelsea, fue acusado y enfrenta cargos criminales por insultos raciales en un partido en Octubre, y se dice que es el primer jugador que es demandado fuera de la cancha./p pEl Delantero Uruguayo Luis Suarez quien es parte del equipo Liverpool de la Liga Inglaterra, fue suspendido ocho partidos y multado $63,000 por usar lenguaje abusivo contra Patrice Evra un Defensor negro de Francia que juega en el Manchester United./p pEn diferentes medios de comunicación se rumora que esto no es problema de jugadores si no del futbol Europeo, en el pasado hubo ocasiones donde les tiraban plátanos, y cacahuates a los jugadores negros./p pEl futbol es muy bonito y justo cuando se juega bien./p pMe acuerdo de mi entrenador Mark G, quien uso el Futbol para educarnos sobre el racismo, la injusticia, no ser homofóbicos y hasta sobre las clases sociales./p pYo trato de enseñarle a mi sobrino Tiburcio quien es jugador joven de futbol, que el futbol se juega fuerte pero limpio y con respeto./p pNecesitamos educar desde una temprana edad a los adolescentes de ser respetuosos y no Racistas./p pOjala que la FIFA hago algo sobre el racismo en el Futbol y que castigue a los que violen las reglas y que sea claro que el racismo no será tolerado y todos los violadores serán castigados y penalizados./p

p spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanEverybody here has seen the occupy camps being raided by the police and protesters being arrested for illegal lodging(span data-scayt_word="647e" data-scaytid="1"647e/span), although a blanket is not considered a lodge of any sort. The tactics used ranging from pepper spray to span data-scayt_word="kettling" data-scaytid="2"kettling/span(where they tell people two things at once) ldquo;get out the street, get off the sidewalkrdquo;, have been long used against people of color and every colored face considered as poor or homeless here in America./p p spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanNow if you are among those who were arrested, donrsquo;t forget your court date. Reason being, if you are taken in again, you will not be sighted and released. You will be held in contempt of court for not being there during YOUR ARRAIGNMENT. Truth is that 9 times out of 10, the arresting officer will not be there. In court, if your accuser fails to show up to accuse you, YOUR SET FREE. If you do get charged with a 647 e (illegal lodging), claim not guilty and ask for a jury trial. The last time someone was convicted of a span data-scayt_word="647e" data-scaytid="3"647e/span was over one-hundred years ago in 1897, when illegal lodging was considered claim jumping by those who found others building on their land./p p spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanThe reason police came up with this tactic, is because charging citizens with vagrancy was considered un-constitutional. In that era San Francisco was infamous for this charge, arresting people for being indigenous(Native) or not having at least $20 in their pocket. The span data-scayt_word="647e" data-scaytid="5"647e/span is simply another attempt to legally illegal in addressing unwanted citizens./p p spannbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanThe no-sit no-lie law first showed its face as a tactic to keep gay couples from expressing their love for one-another in public, this was around the time of Harvey Milkrsquo;s campaign for the struggle of Human Rights. This was also a way to keep Jazz musicians, day laborers, homeless, and other so-called/p p undesirables of the street, again the Superior Courts considered this as un-constitutional. In 2011 we are now witnessing the same ugly head beginning to surface. This time it is being used to remove homeless citizens and the Occupy protesters who now are joined with them in the streets./p p This is a poem written by a German Catholic Priest (trying to get a point across)/p p class="MsoNormal" They sent me to save the Jews from being arrested,/p p class="MsoNormal" Because I am not Jewish, I ignored them./p p class="MsoNormal" They sent me to help the poor,/p p class="MsoNormal" Since I am not poor, I didnrsquo;t go to help them./p p class="MsoNormal" Now they are coming for me./p p class="MsoNormal" And no-one is to help me./p p class="MsoNormal" Theyrsquo;re going to take me to the hanging-tree next./p p class="MsoNormal" please wake up before you are the next to be lined up./p